l^ 





^^^'-"^ 



MOSES HERRMAN'^ 

MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY. 
1894. 




Class IZL^Jh 

Book— JT ^<^ 



%n W0i^nxovmm. 



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^KmtB Wl. ^nsUA. 



"In peace and honor rest you here. 
Here are no storms 
No noise, but silence and eternal sleep. 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



LEGISLATURE 



OF THE 



State of New York, 



IN MEMORY OF 



Gen. JAMES W. HUSTED, 



HELD AT THE 



Capitol, Tuesday Evening, March 28, 1893. 



ALBANY: 

JAMES B. LYON, PRINTER. 

1893. 






^x.^ 

^\^ 



Joint Committee of the Legislature. 



SENATE COMMITTEE. 



CHARLES P. MCCLELLAND, GEORGE Z. ERWIN, 

GEORGE F. ROESCH, EDWARD B. OSBORNE, 

EDMUND O'CONNOR. 



ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE. 



GEORGE P. WEBSTER, ARTHUR C. BUTTS, 

WILLIAM E. SHIELDS, HENRY H. GUENTHER, 

DANIEL F. MARTIN, GEORGE R. MALBY, 

EDGAR L. RYDER, HAMILTON FISH, Jr., 

ISRAEL T. DEYO. 



PROCEEDINGS 



Legislature of the State of New York 



RELATION TO THE DEATH 



General JAMES W. HUSTED, 



PROCEEDINGS. 



STATE OF NEW YORK : 

In Assembly, ) 

January 3, 1893. f 

Mr. QiTiGLEY offered for the consideration 
of the House a resokition, in the words 
following : 

Resolved^ That the Legislature of 1S93 learns with 
deep sorrow of the death of Hon. James W. Hiisted. 

Resolved, That his distinguished public services, his 
high standard of public honor, and his official and public 
integrity, merit the acknowledgment of the people of 
this State. 

Resolved, That as a legislator, whose term of service 
covered a period of over twentj^-two years, he won the 
admiration and confidence of the entire people of the 
State. / 

Resolved (if the Senate concur), That a joint com- 
mittee, of this Legislature, consisting of five Senators and 
nine Members of the Assembly, be appointed by the 
presiding officers of the respective Houses, to prepare a 
suitable memorial of the ]niblic services of the deceased 
legislato)'. and to report to the Legislature what further 
action shall be taken in order to pay to his memory the 
respectful tribute of their sorrow. 

9 



|ti 3|Xjciui3riam» 



The Senate subsequently returned the con- 
current resokition relative to the death of 
the Hon. James A¥. Husted, with a message 
that they have concurred in the passage of 
the same ; also, stating that the President 
had appointed as the committee of the 
Senate to act with the Assembly committee 
in preparing a memorial on the public ser- 
vices of the late Hon. James W. Husted, 
Messrs. McClelland, Koesch, Erwin, Osborne 
and O'Connor. 

Mr. Speaker appointed as the committee 
on the part of the Assembly, Messrs. Webster, 
Shields, Martin, Ryder, Butts, Guenther, 
Malby, Fish and Deyo. 

At a meeting of the above joint committee, 
it was decided to hold a memorial service in 
the Assembly Chamber at such time as would 
suit the convenience of the Hon. Chauncey M. 
Depew, who was invited by the committee to 
deliver the memorial address. 

The Hon. Chauncey M. Depew accepted the 
invitation, and named Tuesday evening, March 
28, 1893, as the date for the memorial service. 



lO 



MEMORIAL SERVICE. 



Assembly Chamber, 
Albany, March 28, 1898. 

The Legislature having met in joint session 
in the Assembly Chamber, in pursnance of the 
arrangements made by the Joint Memorial 
Committee, the Hon. Charles P. McClelland, 
Chairman of the Joint Committee, called the 
meeting to order, and introduced Hon. 
William Sulzer, Speaker of the Assembly, as 
the presiding officer of the occasion. 

The hymn, '^ Remember now thy Creator," 
was sung by a quartette composed of Thomas 
Impett, Charles P. Stimpson, Charles A. 
White, and C, A. Stein. 

Prayer was offered by the Rev. Walton W. 
Battershall, D. I)., of Albany, as follows : 

1 lieurd a voice from heaven, saying unto me, AVrite, 
From henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the 
Lord : even so saith the Spirit ; for they rest from their 
labours. Rev. xiv. 13. 



Jtt g^emuriam. 



Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy 
Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, 
As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; 
But deliver us from evil. Amen. 

Almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of those 
who depart hence in tne Lord, and with Avhom the souls 
of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden 
of the flesh, are in joy and felicity ; "We give thee hearty 
thanks for the good examples of all those thy servants, 
who, having finished their course in faith, do now rest 
from their labours. And we beseech thee, that we, with 
all those who are departed in the true faitli of thy holy 
Name, may have our perfect consummation and" bliss, 
both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting 
glory ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. A77if}i. 

O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies 
can not be numbered ; Make us, we beseech thee, deeply 
sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of human life ; 
and let thy holy Spirit lead us in lioliness and righteous- 
ness, all the days of our lives ; that, w hen we shall have 
served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto 
our fath^l's, having the testimony of a good conscience, 
in the confidence of a certain faith ; in the comfort of a 
reasonable, religious, and holy hope ; in favour with thee 
our God, and in perfect charity with the world. All 
which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Almighty and everliving God, who hasi taught us to 
make prayers, and supplications, and to give thanks for 
all men ; We beseech thee, so to direct and dispose the 

12 



^cu. gitmcs Wi. gxvstcd. 



hearts of all Christian Rulers, that they may truly and 
impartially administer justice, to the punishment of 
wickedness and vice, and to the maintenance of thy true 
religion and virtue. Give grace, O heavenly Father, to 
all thy People ; that, with meek heart and due reverence, 
they may hear and receive thy holy Word ; truly serving 
thee in holiness and righteousness all the da}^^ of their 
life. And we most humbly beseech thee, of tliy good- 
ness, O Lord, to comfort and succour all those who, in 
this transitory life, are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, 
or any other adversity. And we also bless thy holy 
Name for all th}' servants departed this life in thy faith 
and fear ; beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow 
their good examples, that with them we may be par- 
takers of thy heavenly kingdom. Grant this, O Father, 
for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. 
Amen. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of 
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us 
all evermore. Amen. 

The hymn " Lead Kindly Light ^' was ren- 
dered by the quartette. 

Chauncey M. Depew, L.L. D., then delivered 
the following memorial address : 

Senator:- and Members of Assembly: — 
Li the fall of 1852, I stood upon the campus 
at Yale College, a country lad, who had just 
entered the freshman class. I had neither 

18 



%xi IJXjcmoviam. 



a friend nor an acquaintance in New Haven, 
and was utterly lonesome and homesick. A 
handsome young man, with brilliant eyes, a 
mass of wavy auburn hair, liowing down to 
his shoulders, and a gay, debonair way, stepped 
briskly up to me, and with a cordial grasp, as 
if we had been life-long friends, said, "my 
name is Husted, I am a Junior, and we are 
both from Westchester county." This was 
the beoinnino- of our attachment, which 
remained unbroken amid all the wonderful 
changes and vicissitudes of the future, and 
ripened and deepened with time, until our 
relations were broken by the death of General 
Husted, forty years afterwards. The under- 
graduate was then developing the qualities 
which were the elements of his success. He 
was not a close student, but very active in the 
work of the literary societies. He wa.^ not a 
factor of importance in the competition for 
scholastic honors, but he was a potential force 
in college politics. He cared little who w^as 
to be the valedictorian, but was uncommonly 
anxious to be the leader of his class. He was 



14 



C5cu. iHamcs Wi, Hustctl. 



an excelleut classical scholar, and always kept 
up his easy familiarity with Latin and Greek, 
but believed with Pope, that 

"The proper study of mankind is nian." 

Like all the men who have risen to distinc- 
tion in our country, he was compelled to work 
from the start, and without other assistance, 
than his own industry and ability, make his 
own career. His remarkable power of lucid 
explanation made him an admirable teacher. 
The academy which he taught after leaving 
college, to secure the means for prosecuting 
his law studies, never had a better principal, 
and he continued to teach until his admission 
to the bar. He leaped into the political arena 
as soon as he received his diploma, and had 
won the respect and recognition of the county 
leaders before he began practicing his pro- 
fession. He was faithful to the trusts which 
he assumed either as teacher or lawyer, or 
business man, but his models were the states- 
men of the country, and his ambitions and 
aspirations were for public life. It was thirty- 
eight years from his graduation until his death, 



18 



%n ptcmovlam. 



and as School Commissioner, Deputy Superin- 
tendent of the Insurance Department, Harbor 
Master, Deputy Captain of the Port, Emigra- 
tion Commissioner, and Member of the Legis- 
lature, he was for thirty-five years in respon- 
sible positions in our State government. But 
he was also, during this active and busy period, 
Judge Advocate of the Seventh Brigade, 
Major-General of the Fifth Division of the 
National Guard, and Grand Master of the 
Masonic Fraternity of the State of New York. 
He served twenty-two terms in the House 
of Assembly, and was six times its Speaker, 
a record unequalled, either in length of service, 
or in the Jiumber of elections as Presidino^ 
Officer of the popular branch of the Legisla- 
ture, in the history of the State. He grasped 
intuitively the conditions in his district, and 
possessed endless fertility of resource and 
audacity for attack. In the quickness of his 
movements and combinations he resembled 
General Slieridan, and the suddenness and 
brilliancy of his assault was like a cavalry 
charge of Murat's. While still a law student. 



16 



CHietx. games Ml. gxistctl. 



he upset the calculations and defeated the 
plans of the veteran party managers, and by 
a creation and coalition as original as it was 
bold, carried the third district of Westchester 
and elected himself School Commissioner. 
Rockland county had always been a Demo- 
cratic stronghold. It was in the same 
Senatorial and Congressional district as West- 
chester, and General Husted had frequently 
canvassed it and was thoroughly familiar with 
its people. After he had served nine terms 
in the Assembly from Westchester county, the 
Republicans of Rockland invited him to come 
over and lead the forlorn hope. His quick 
eye detected a division in the apparently solid 
ranks of the enemy. He accepted the nomi- 
nation in Rockland for Member of Assembly, 
and to the surprise of the State and the 
country, carried the county twice. He thus 
accomplished a doubly difficult task, first, in 
overcoming a majority which had always 
been overwhelmingly against his party, and 
secondly, in succeeding against the strong 
local prejudices which always exist in our 



17 



Jti ga^emoviam. 



constituencies against a candidate who is not 
a resident of the district. 

It would greatly strengthen and improve 
our public life if this custom was more elastic. 
No matter how able or useful a representa- 
tive may be, no matter how valuable to good 
government, or to the position and power of 
his party, his political career is dependent 
upon the accidents in the district where he 
may happen to reside. If constituencies 
could and would choose from candidates 
without regard to residence, men like Mr. 
Blaine or Mr. Thurraan would always be in 
their proper places, leading their respective 
parties, and giving their genius for affairs 
and ripe experience to the service of their 
country. The statesman who had been 
beaten by a nobody upon some local issue 
could find a constituency devoted to national 
questions which would gladly return him, 
and have pride in the fame of their member. 

General Husted entered the field of State 
politics at a time when an old dynasty was 
crumbling to pieces. New York has been 



18 



(^m, aames ^m. gxxstccl. 



singular in the domination of her great 
parties by individuals or diques They have 
always been arbitrary and autocratic, and 
often tyrannical. It is said of a Parlia- 
mentary district in London, which will 
always give a larger majority for a titled 
candidate than for a commoner, that Mary- 
lebone dearly loves a lord. So our State for 
more than half a century has shown a decided 
preference for what partisans call a leader, 
and the public a boss. Power is exercised, 
either in the recognition and promotion of 
ability, or in a merciless crusade against 
talent and ambition, and the ruthless slaugh- 
ter of independent thought or action. In the 
one case the party grows in strength and 
opportunity, and in the other it falls finally into 
the hands of a diminishing number until the 
hardships of defeat have restored its vitality 
and vigor. Edwin Cross well and the Albany 
Argus had ruled the Democratic party for a 
long time, and Thurlow Weed had controlled 
the Whig, and afterwards the Republican 
party, for more than thirty years. There 



19 



|n ptemoriam. 



was little opportunity for young men in either 
organization, and revolts against the leaders 
were becoming more frequent and formidable. 
The alliance between Seward, Weed and 
Greeley, which had exercised such a powerful 
and historical influence upon the affairs of 
both the State and nation, had been dissolved 
by the retirement of the junior member. 
Roscoe Conkling and Reuben E. Fenton were 
fighting the machine and denouncing machine 
rule and machine methods with a force and 
eloquence which have never been equalled. 
The subsequent position of both these exceed- 
ingly able and successful men on this question 
is a remarkable illustration of the irony of 
political evolution. 

Young men usually find that where the 
party is cliqued, the only way to secure favors 
or recognition is by making the leaders fear 
them. But in associations formed by such 
considerations there is neither faith nor 
fidelity. Thurlow Weed maintained his 
supremacy for a generation because of the 
wisdom and liberality of his methods. The rule 



zo 



^ew. iamcs ^m. gxtsted. 



usually is to repel assistance, especially from 
strong men, because of jealousy, and also on 
the principle that the more numerous the 
victors the more minute is the division of the 
spoils. Mr. Weed, for the greater part of his 
long reign, was constantly recruiting his 
forces. When a young man displayed con- 
spicuous ability, either in the Legislature or 
State convention, or upon the platform, his 
acquaintance was sought and his friendship 
gained. This constant replacement of losses 
and strengthening of his organization with 
fresh and vigorous members, made him invin- 
cible for a generation. Horace Greeley was 
unequalled as a partisan editor, but he could 
not contest the leadership with Thurlow Weed. 
He was a great thinker and writer, but the 
weakest and most uncertain of political 
captains. He was so vacillating in his move- 
ments, and so credulous in his judgment of 
men, that his selection of Ueutenants was 
often unfortunate, and sometimes whimsical. 
In the last years of Mr. Weed's active 
control of the party he changed his pohcy. 



21 



%n ptjetnoviam. 



The able men who had acted with aud under 
him so long, fearing the vigorous youth who 
were forging to the front, aroused his distrust 
of these pushing ambitions. The result was 
first revolt, and then revolution within the 
party, and next its defeat in the State. 

Independence of thought and action have 
unrestrained opportunity when a party is in 
the minority. Rewards and punishments are 
no longer factors in caucusses or conven- 
tions, and influence is proportioned to merit. 
It was some years after the fall of Thurlow 
Weed, before the party found a new leader. 
During this period, a number of young men, 
of brilliant ability and great promise, came 
prominently before the public. Many of them 
disappeared afterwards, either losing their 
constituencies, or being crushed out by some 
one of the subsequent machines. General 
Husted was one of the few, out of the many 
products of the period of party liberty, who 
survived all the accidents of warring and 
changing factions He Avas more frequently 
in opposition to, than in accord with the 



Ciien. ^mnta ^M. ^xxsUd, 



machine. As one was broken and another 
constructed, he would still find himself antag- 
onized by it. He had views and would 
express them, and he wanted reasons before 
he would obey orders. These qualities made 
him objectionable to the leaders as they 
severally came into power. They repeatedly 
thwarted his ambitions for State office, and 
for Federal appointments, but were able only 
once to dislodge him in his district. They 
tried to beat him by third candidates, they 
endeavored to defeat his nominations by cap- 
turing his friends with places in the custom 
house and the post-office, and on several occa- 
sions, preferring a Democrat to a Republican 
they could not absolutely control, they fur- 
nished secret but substantial support to his 
opponent. But nothing could shake his hold 
upon his people. They knew him, and he 
knew them. 

He saw the power of Thurlow Weed pass 
away, he held his own during the brief sway 
of Horace Greeley, he kept his position under 
the rule of Reuben E. Fenton, and the mastery 



28 



Jtt g^cmoviam. 



of Roscoe Conkling, and notwithstanding all 
the kaleidoscopic changes following the retire- 
ment of Senator Conkling, he died as he had 
lived for twenty-two years, still Member of 
Assembly for the Third District of Westches- 
ter. General Hiisted's tact, talents and unsel- 
fish desire to be useful, made him the selected 
friend in the House of Assembly of every 
Governor of the State, no matter what the 
politics of the Executive. Hoifman, Dix, 
Tilden, Robinson, Cornell, Cleveland, Hill and 
Flower, were successively the chief magis- 
trates of the commonwealth during General 
Husted's service in the Legislature, and with 
each of them his relations were close and 
cordial. He was above small partisanship 
and cheap politics. He believed the Gov- 
ernor of the State of New York occupied a 
large place, and that the Legislature should 
do all in its power to enable him to sustain its 
dignity. On strictly party measures, he 
would always act with his party. But a 
Governor can be annoyed or assisted in 
numberless ways, which affect only his com- 



24 



CScu. Muxes Wi. MxxsUiSi. 



fort and legitimate powers. In such cases, if 
the Repubhcans were in the majority, Husted 
was the Governor's most efficient friend, and 
if the Democrats were in power, he was still 
the most important factor in the Capitol. 
Those who wanted to get revenge because 
some bill had been vetoed, or an appointment 
to office had not been made, and those who 
thought it good politics to cramp the con- 
veniences of help, or material for the Execu- 
tive Chamber, or the Executive Mansion, 
found in the General an alert, able and gener- 
ally successful enemy. Governor Tilden'a 
fame and career depended upon his carrying 
through the Assembly, while he was a mem- 
ber, his resolution for the impeachment of the 
ring judges. And yet he would have failed, 
except for the assistance and consummate 
parliamentary skill of the member from West- 
chester. Mr. Tilden never forgot this service, 
and tried in after years in many ways to show 
his appreciation and gratitude He thought 
that Husted, from his associations and intima- 
cies^ would join the Greeley movement, which 



%n picmoviam. 



might peril his political future, and at great 
inconvenience and trouble, he conveyed early 
information to the General of the Republican 
victory in North Carolina, which virtually 
decided the contest against the editor of the 
Tribune. 

Our departed friend saw, as no other public 
man has been permitted to observe, the 
triumphs and defeats, the hopes and disap- 
pointments, the joys and sorrows, the realities 
and the romance of political careers. Every 
conspicuous figure in either party during the 
past quarter of a century has been his 
associate and his friend. I have referred to 
his relations with the men who received the 
honors, and at times controlled the organiza- 
tion of the Republican party in our State. 
But he was with Tilden when that statesman 
was hovering between fame and oblivion, and 
enjoyed his familiar intimacy and confidence 
during his gubernatorial term. As a veteran 
leader in the Assembly, he witnessed the 
meteoric advent of Mr. Cleveland in Albany, 
and divined the power which has developed 



26 



CHen. games "Wi. gtttstcd. 



such phenomenal strength in the State and in 
the country. He was serving his fourth term 
in the Legislature, when a member from 
Chemung, then scarcely known beyond the 
boundaries of his county, began a career 
which has harvested the Lieutenant-Governor- 
ship and Chief Magistracy of our State, and 
United States Senator, and made David B. 
Hill a potent force in the counsels of his 
party. Speakers of the Assembly Gleorge B. 
Sloan and George H. Sharpe, Titus Sheard 
and George Z. Erwin, Fremont Cole and 
WilHam F. Sheehan, Robert P. Bush and 
AYilliam Sulzer, were not only his associates, 
but they were his pupils and prize winners in 
parliamentary law. 

There is no talent more common than the 
ability to speak, and none more rare than the 
gift of speaking so as to command the atten- 
tion and substantial assent of the audience. 
The ordinary talker in a deliberative body 
kills time and murders patience, irritates the 
indifferent and tires his friends. Real debat- 
ing power is a gift, as brilliant as it is useful. 



27 



%n ^tmovimn. 



It does not consist in elaborate effort, in the 
length of the speech, in superiority of logic, 
grace of diction, or rhetorical finish. Any or 
all of these may prove a detriment, though, 
with the master, they are tools to be used, or 
not, as the occasion may require. Many a 
massive structure, which the orator has spent 
hours in erecting, has been demolished, and 
has buried its author under its ruins, by the 
dynamite of a ten-minute speech. Legisla- 
tures fear bores and resent pedagogues. They 
love good fighters and hard hitters. Like 
veteran troops, they do not want to be 
instructed, but to be led. They may sleep 
through a ponderous oration of Charles Sum- 
ner, and rise with delight to greet an incisive 
sarcasm of Thaddeus Stevens. There are 
occasions when a labored effort is necessary 
to outline or defend a policy, or to appeal to 
the party or the country. But in the exi- 
gencies of daily discussion, it is the crisp, 
lucid and direct debater who carries, or 
defeats measures. The skillful parliamenta- 
rian knows instinctively the temper of the 



28 



CSeu. James 121. gxvsted. 



House. His greatest triumphs are in humoriug 
its moods. No member was ever more com- 
plete master of this art than General Husted. 
No member ever passed or defeated so many 
bills. His speeches were rarely a half an 
hour in length, and most of them not over 
ten minutes. He captured the attention of 
the Assembly with his first sentence, and had 
its approval before he closed. He was not 
speaking for posterity, but to carry his point. 
The debate would drag wearily on. The 
impatient House would have listened to the 
dry statistician, and the dreary logician, to 
the spread-eagle orator careering among the 
constellations, and strewing the floor with 
star dust, and to the exhaustive and exhaust- 
ing essayist with whom all arguments are 
alike important, and the quantity of whose 
matter obscures its quality. Suddenly, a 
ringing voice, shouting '' Mr, Speaker," would 
rouse every one like an electric shock. The 
flashing eyes of the Bald Eagle of Westches- 
ter would cast a sweeping glance about the 
Chamber, and arrest universal attention. The 



29 



Jtt glemoriam. 



weak positions taken by his enemy would be 
quickly turned, the reasons for his side as 
quickly and succinctly stated, a burst of humor 
would give the laugh of friends and enemies 
alike, to one adversary, and a biting sarcasm 
to the delight of the audience, pierce another, 
and the tired and impatient House, hailing 
him as their deliverer, would follow his lead. 
He was the friend and protector of young 
members. Few positions are more difl&cult 
and embarrassing than those of a new mem- 
ber, whose constituency have elected him to 
pass certain measures. He is ignorant alike 
of the rules of the Assembly, and of Jeffer- 
son's Manual. He soon finds himself lost in a 
labyrinth from which he can neither extricate 
himself nor his bills. He is in despair betw een 
his impotency at the Capitol, and his waning 
prestige and popularity at home. His col- 
leagues, as a rule, are too much absorbed in 
their own matters to heed or care for his. 
The veteran member from Westchester was 
ever watchful for such signs of distress. P]ven 

while the House was smilino- at the bunolino- 

so 



Cf5cu. James im. gustcd. 



efforts of the proposer of the bill, or deri- 
sively laughing at his mistakes, a masterhand 
would take hold of the measure, and its easy 
and uninterrupted movement would seem 
inspired by the wand of a magician. 

The hostihty of his party leaders would 
often consign him to minor places on the com- 
mittees, and the rear rank among his asso- 
ciates, and yet before the session was half 
over, his unequalled talent on the floor, and 
the devoted following of new members whom 
he had assisted or rescued, would put him in 
his proper place, and make the leaders, tem- 
porarily at least, his suppliants. He was so 
fair a political opponent, and always so ready 
to cheerfully help members of the other party 
on matters which were not partisan, that 
they were only too glad to reciprocate when 
occasion offered. This assistance was of 
great service to him in several crises of his 
career. There were times when it might 
have been good politics for the Democrats to 
have joined with the organization of his own 
party to crush the General out. But they 



31 



Ju ptciuoviatu. 



never did. When the question related solely 
to his personal fortunes, and his position in 
the House, they did what he asked, and often 
followed his lead in those sudden and auda- 
cious assaults upon his adversaries which 
totally routed them, and scored for him a 
significant individual victory. 

And yet this dashing fighter, this fierce 
cavalier, this most reckless and daring of com- 
batants, was incapable of harboring or retain- 
ing an enmity. He never knew the feeling, 
which is the luxury of some natures, of hate. 
If he had not been so buoyant, supremely 
hopeful, and sincere, he might justly have been 
charged with regarding politics as a game, 
with the gambler's admiration for the winner, 
and sympathy for the loser. He was a 
thorough partisan, and during all his life did 
yeoman's service for his party. He could not 
understand why differences of political faith, or 
policy, should lead to personal enmities. The 
most childish, and the most frequent exhibi- 
tion of spleen among politicians, is that of the 
man in your own, or the opposition party with 



33 



Cl5cti. 3'iUncs Wl, Busted. 



whom you have a disagreement growing out 
of purely poUtical affairs, who thereafter with- 
draAVS from you the honor of his recognition, 
or acquaintance. It shows both the vulnera- 
ble places in the statesman's armor, and an 
appreciation of his nod, absurdly dispropor- 
tionate to its value. It is a practice, which 
so grows by indulgence, that its proud pos- 
sessor is sometimes himself in doubt whether 
the person he meets may not be on his list of 
the excommunicated, and groping helplessly 
in the Cimmerian darkness which envelopes 
all those whose atmosphere is not illumined 
by his approving smile. It was never necessary 
for General Husted to consult a memorandum 
book before he spoke to a man. He cordially 
greeted everybody, and that one the most 
warmly with Avhom he had the last battle. 
If he was worsted, he was tlie first to compli- 
ment his advei'sary upon his victory, and if 
he was himself the victor, he doubly disarmed 
his enemy by the generosity of his treatment. 
He loved to gather about his hospitable table 
his legislative, or party opponents, and discuss 



33 



%n '^tmoximn. 



the fields they had fought, the feints, the 
assaults, the retreats, the false movements, 
the mistaken manoeuvres, and recount with 
hilarious glee, the unexpected stroke which 
had turned the flank of the enemy, and won 
the day. 

Those who have never been in pubHc life, 
or active in politics, know nothing of their 
exquisite pleasures, and keen disappointments. 

It is the compensations of a career which 
make life worth the living. If it was all joy, 
or all sorrow, there would be nothing in it. 

The politician is always either in paradise 
or purgatory, and he is ever struggling to stay 
in the one sphere, or to get out of the other. 

The intensity and strain, the uncertainties 
and accidents of politics make possible the 
warmest attachments among politicians. This 
is especially true between those of opposite 
faith. They fight only on broad lines, and 
are free from the irritations of faction feuds. 
They generously appreciate the good quali- 
ties and abilities, each of the other, and 
are bound together in bonds of closest friend- 



34 



(Sen. James ^M, Jliisted. 



ship. General Husted was peculiarly felici- 
tous in making, and happy in retaining these 
relations. His most ardent admirers, and 
steadfast friends were to be found among the 
leaders of the opposition. It was the chival- 
rous spirit, and actions t)f the man which won 
the applause and affections of his political 
foes. 

There were few deeper or more sincere 
mourners at his funeral than those whom he 
had conquered, or been defeated by, on many 
a fair field, and in many a fair fight. 

The Legislature, and its popular Assembly 
concentrate the attention of the people much 
more than the executive or the judicial 
branches of free government. The represen- 
tatives are in closer relations with the constit- 
uencies. It is from the lower House, as a 
rule, that the highest honors are attained. 

Five of General Husted's colleagues have 
been Governors, two of them United States 
Senators, three Lieutenant Governors, eighteen 
State ofl&cers, fourteen have been members of 
Congress, twelve have been elevated to the 



S6 



Jtt ^tnxoviiim. 



Bench, and many have served with distinction 
in important positions under the Federal 
Government. There is a pecuhar fascination 
about the three chief positions in a deliberative 
body. The speaker, the leader of the House, 
and the leader of the opposition are the great 
men of the hour, and have rare opportunities 
for permanent fame. The very few whose 
names we can recall in our century of Con- 
gressional life, who have attained distinction 
in any of these positions, indicate how rare is 
parliamentary ability of the first order ; and 
the limited number who were eminent in all 
three departments, illustrate the genius re- 
quired to fill them. A successful leader of 
the House may prove a poor general for 
th'e opposition, and be a total failure as a 
Speaker. We have, as yet, produced but 
two statesmen w^ho were conspicuously great, 
and unequalled both on the floor and as 
presiding ofiicers, Henry Clay and James 
G. Blaine. The judicial impartiahty of the 
Chair, and the blind partisanship of the floor, 
require experience, and qualities so distinct 



36 



C5cu. 3amc6 ®l. ^tistcrt. 



and antagonistic, that their ])ossession rarely 
appears more than once in a generation. 
There have been some, but not many, who 
excelled General Husted as a leader of the 
House, and some but not many who excelled 
him as a leader of the opposition, but not 
even Clay or Blaine were his superior as a 
presiding officer. The celerity with which he 
woidd unravel a tangle of cumulative and 
contradictory motions and amendments ; the 
certainty of his positions ; the clearness and 
directness of his decisions, and the ability 
with which he brought order out of chaos, 
and quieted the most disorderly and tumul- 
tuous assemblage, were strokes of genius. 
He never made a mistake which he could not 
correct, and never a misstep from which he 
could not instantly land on firmer ground. 

It well repaid a visit to the Capitol to see 
Speaker Husted preside. The gratification of 
witnessing an important thing done perfectly, 
is almost as great as to do it oneself. The 
artistic instinct is universal, and all enjoy the 
work of a master artist. Some member woidd 



37 



%n ptcmoviam. 



be occupying the- chair temporarily. The 
House would be in confusion, and many mem- 
bers shouting at the same time for recognition 
would stop business. Angry altercations 
would be going on in the aisles and in front 
of the desk. The chairman would pound with 
his gavel and threaten to hand the more 
obstreperous members into the custody of the 
Sergeant-at-Arms, only to be either unnoticed 
or laughed at. Suddenly would sound through 
the Chamber a sharp rap, succeeded by 
another and more emphatic one. Silence 
would instantly follow. The Speaker would 
peremptorily order that members take their 
seats, and then instantly utilizing the breath- 
less silence, he would either end the wrangle 
by a decision which no one dared question, 
or recognize the member whom he knew 
could hold the floor, or direct the Clerk to 
proceed with the regular order. The trans- 
formation, from riot to business, was because 
the leader had resumed the chair, and the 
House 1)0 wed submissive to its master. No 
one but he, at least at Albany, has ever been 



38 



(gen, James ^m. Jiustctl. 



able to make the gavel talk. He won his 
greatest triumphs in the closing days of the 
session. This is always a critical period for 
the Speaker, and a time full of peril to the 
State, and the reputation of the Legislature. 
Party bills have been kept behind to avoid 
the scrutiny of the opposition, and bad bills 
held in reserve, in the hope of passing them 
during the confusion of the last hours. The 
lobby is alert and audacious, and the specu- 
lators in legislation, both inside and outside 
the Legislature, are exhausting the resources 
of cunning, and testing the elasticity of the 
rules to pass their bills, their resolutions and 
their schemes. It is the work of the week of 
adjournment which has at times done incal- 
culable injury to the Commonwealtli, and 
rendered some sessions infamous. Here is the 
Speaker's opportunity and his danger. He 
will either guide the House, or the House will 
ride rough shod over him. General Hustcd 
was thoroughly familiar with the history 
and needs of the State. He made himself 
acquainted with the bills Avhich were pending, 



89 



Jtt pt^moriam. 



both in Senate and Assembly. He knew the 
inside of all the conspiracies and combina- 
tions, and through the veneer of alleged 
public interests saw the strike, and behind 
the mask of a fraudulent reformer, the striker^ 
Business would proceed with the rapidity of 
lightning, and the dazed members be either 
frantic or paralyzed in the whirl of motions, 
speeches, reports and roll calls. There was 
in that maddened throng one cool, supreme, 
controlling mind. With a skill, which was 
like necromancy, and a daring which silenced 
dissent, he sifted the mass pouring from the 
hopper of committees, and sub-committees, 
and dropped the bad out of its order, and 
sent the good through. 

From 1869, when General Husted was first 
elected to the Legislature, and including 1892 
when he died, has been a most eventful 
period in tlie history of the Nation, and of 
our State. It runs from Grant's first to Cleve- 
land's second election, and from Hoffman to 
Flower. Tt is fruitful of popular revulsions, 
and revivals of prosperity. It is rich in 



4,0 



Cl5cu. James Wl. gustcd. 



materials for the historian, the political econo- 
mist and the political philosopher. It has 
been singularly full of, and remarkably fatal 
to great men and powerful organizations. 
The re-election of General Grant, and the 
tragedy which clouded the mighty brain and 
ended the eventful life of Horace Greeley; 
the threatening clouds of revolution which 
hovered over the claims of Samuel J. Tilden, 
and their dispersion by the inauguration of 
Rutherford B. Hayes; the political revolu- 
tion against the organization which ended 
in the nomination of Garfield, and the loss 
of its fruits by his assassination; the 
dynamic and romantic events which made 
Cleveland President, and the receding tide 
which carried Harrison into the White House, 
and the electoral results which after thirty- 
two years, have changed the politics and 
policy of the National Government by Mr. 
Cleveland's second election, with the Senate 
and House of Representatives behind him ; 
these, and the great financial and industrial 
measures which have had such potent influ- 



41 



Jtt g^emcrriam. 



ence upon the welfare of our country, are the 
national milestones of these wonderful years. 
...The rapid rise and rough destruction of the 
forces which made Hoffman Governor; the 
patriotic combination which gave a hundred 
thousand majority to General Dix, the rising 
tide against corruption in the State and city 
of New York, which carried Tilden to the 
executive chair; the easy succession of Lucius 
Robinson, and the reclamation of the State by 
Alonzo B. Cornell; the protest against federal 
and machine dictation which gave Cleveland 
nearly two hundred thousand majority, and 
the more recent contests which ended in the 
election of Hill and Flower ; and the struggles 
and their issues which are fruitful of bitter 
controversy for a generation to come, form 
the most varied, eventful and interesting 
chapter in the history of our Commonwealth. 
It will ever remain the unique distinction of 
General Husted that, though subject to the 
ordeal of an annual election, he held place 
and power (;luring this 

" Wreck of matter and crush of worlds." 

42 



Clew, gamss Wl. gttstcA. 



As a legislator, he favored all political, 
moral and social reforms. On such questions 
he rose above party considerations. He fear- 
lessly advocated the suffrage for women. He 
was the most efficient friend of the Union 
Soldier. His best efforts, and most effective 
speeches, were for high license, or other wise 
regulations of the liquor traffic, for the pro- 
tection of the American Sunday, for religious 
toleration in legislation, and for better and 
more humane care of the afflicted and 
unfortunate who are the wards of the 
State. 

Through all his varied career he cared 
nothing for yesterday, did his best for to day, 
and was confident of to-morrow. The rain- 
bow of hope always spanned his sky. The 
elasticity of his temperament was the marvel 
of those who were intimate with him. He 
knew defeat, but had no comprehension of 
despair. He saw in misfortunes which others 
regarded as calamities, a providential inter- 
position that he might reap richer rewards in 
some other direction. Faith, hope and charity 



43 



%ii pt^iixariam. 



were the maiD^^prings of his thoughts and 
actions. He set a very high vahie upon 
pohtical honors, and had a low estimate of 
wealth. Conversations which are so frequent 
in all circles and at most gatherings, concern- 
ing schemes for making fortunes, or the 
fabulous success of lucky individuals, would 
neither interest nor detain him; but he would 
travel a thousand miles on an hour's notice to 
perform a public duty, or attend an important 
meeting of political leaders. He knew little 
about Wall street or the combinations which, 
if successful, accumulate sudden wealth ; but 
he loved to talk with farmers about their 
aifairs, and with workingmen about their 
interests. If some omnipotent power had 
offered him the choice between being the 
richest man in the world or Governor of the 
State of New York — with the certainty of 
having a narrow income for the rest of his 
life after retiring from office — he would 
unhesitatingly have chosen the governorship. 
He beheved i.n himself and his surroundings. 
He felt that others had environments covered 

4,4 

L.ofC. 



^en. Samirs ^^. gustcA. 



bv the same general nomenclature, but that no 
one ever lived who possessed so gifted and 
good a wife, such dutiful and promising chil- 
dren, such worthy and devoted friends, and 
moved amidst such happy and satisfactory 
conditions. He never did an injury to any 
man, but he helped hundreds to positions of 
profit and trust. Fully one-quarter of his 
time was devoted to assisting the young or 
the unfortunate, and his name is heard in the 
grateful prayers of numberless households. 

Patriotic pubhc servant and useful citizen, 
faithful friend and charming companion, the 
State which honored him, and which he 
honored, has enrolled him on the Hst of her 
distinguished sons, and we, the Governor, the 
State officers, the members ■ of Senate and 
Assembly, and people in private station, who 
knew and loved him, will ever cherish his 
memory, feehng that our lives are better and 
brighter because he entered into them. .Dear 
old friend, hail and farewell ! 

The exercises were concluded by the 
rendition of Mendelssohn's ''Forever blest are 



46 



%n ptem0vlam. 



they who die in the Lord/' by the quartette, 
after which Dr. Battershall pronounced the 
following benediction : 

The God of peace, who brought again from the dead 
our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, 
through the blood of the everlasting covenant ; Make 
you perfect in every good work to do his will, working 
in you that which is well pleasing in his sight ; through 
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Ame7i. 

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